


one soul, six bodies

by realheroesweartights



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Megaforce, Power Rangers Super Megaforce
Genre: F/F, M/M, Multi, the closest thing to fluff I will ever produce, what is this I still don't know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-19 11:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3608781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realheroesweartights/pseuds/realheroesweartights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Andresia, loved ones are much more physical than ones on Earth. The Rangers decide that Orion shouldn't have to feel left out.</p><p>Otherwise known as the entire Megaforce team makes out, everyone is queer, and no one really knows who's dating who by the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	one soul, six bodies

**Author's Note:**

> So my friend Kat (powerprincesses is her pr blog) had a birthday and was also peeved at me for writing too much angst so she asked me to write the cutest team fic I could think of. This was the result. Happy birthday to my fave power princess :3
> 
> This takes place over a year in the lives of the Rangers.

It's a few months after Orion arrives on earth that it happens.

They've taken over Noah's house for the afternoon ("My parents are never home," he had told them back when they first became a team, "so if you don't break anything and don't steal too much food, we should be fine.") and assumed their typical positions. 

Gia and Emma are over on the couch, sitting close enough for their legs to be touching but not close enough so Troy will start making that annoying "oooh" sound that has become a trend with him, thanks to Jake. Each has one earbud as they look down at Gia's phone screen, alternating between songs, nodding along to their favorites.

Noah is sitting down on a plush chair, laptop opened up to a science forum, his brow furrowed as he types a reply to 'thegreenone5' that _yes,_ velociraptors did have feathers, and anyone who says otherwise needs to get their license to teach revoked. 

Jake has chosen to lie on the floor, going back and forth between tossing a soccer ball in the air and stuffing his mouth full of Doritos. (Noah claims he doesn't buy them just for Jake, but considering that none of his parents eat junk food and he hasn't eaten that flavor of Doritos in all the years Jake has known him, that seems unlikely.) 

Sitting beside him, legs crossed, is Troy, texting on his phone. He's the slowest typer any of them have ever seen, but he's also the only one who knows Orion's phone number, considering he was its previous owner. 

None of them are speaking (except, perhaps, Noah silently shouting to the idiot on his forum), but the silence isn't awkward. It's just a normal thing- they don't talk much unless all six of them are together. They're a team, in or out of uniform.

Troy puts his phone down after sending one last message, telling them all, "Orion should be here soon."

"You said that ten minutes ago," Emma points out, Gia nodding with her. 

"I'm just saying what he's sending me," Troy holds his hands up, taking a drink from the water bottle next to him. "Who knows? Maybe time is different on Andresia."

"Are you joking?"

"Sorry, Noah, when did you become the resident expert on Andresia?"

Noah groans, rubbing his temples. "Not you. I'm talking to this... lunatic on BioForums. He claims that velociraptors didn't have feathers because he's _seen_ one."

Jake looks up from his soccer ball in confusion. "But they didn't, right?" Noah's Stare of Disappointment (so often used that it needed an official name) told him quite clearly he was wrong.

Orion walks in at exactly the right moment, preventing another Noah Science Geek Rant (another trope so common it needed a name). Noah pretends not to feel hurt at the way Jake and Gia sigh in relief. 

"Hey Orion," Troy goes to say, and would have, if not for a pair of cosmically soft lips crashing into his.

As unexpected as the kiss is, Troy nearly just melts into it and saves time for questions later, only to hear three voices cooing, "Ooooh!"

The noise makes him pull his head away to see a wide-eyed and extremely confused Orion. He ignores the sound of the rest of them laughing in the background, thankful for a moment that Noah is still too engrossed in his forum debate. "C-Can I ask what that was for?" he manages out after a few moments of breathing heavily.

"It was to say hello," Orion tells him, frown deepening. "You don't do that on Earth?"

"Not typically," Troy manages to laugh out. "Um... sit down."

Orion listens, sitting next to Troy as Jake manages to sit up in between peals of laughter. Emma manages to shake off the giggles enough to ask, "Did you kiss all the time on Andresia?" 

He nods, finally making Noah fold up his laptop and put it to the side. "All the time. It's just how we said we were friends."

"Oh," Troy manages out after a moment of thought. "So, it doesn't have to be romantic?"

Orion shakes his head. "Of course not. Not everyone was attracted to anyone."

The team takes a minute to let the information settle in. Andresia seems like a weirder and weirder planet with each piece of information, and even through all of that, they have to remind themselves that it isn't a planet anymore. 

Noah is the one to break the silence. "Wait, Orion... you'd been living here this whole thing thinking kissing was a regular thing?" 

Orion grins and launches into a story about how he'd kissed Ernie the other day while he was closing up shop, which has the rest of them laughing in minutes. 

This is as normal as it gets for them, and they take in the moments of sanity when they can. 

 

It's Emma who starts doing it first. 

They're together again, but this time gathered around the lockers in the northeast corridor of Harwood County High School. Considering Emma and Gia's lockers are only a foot apart, and the boy who previously possessed the locker between them was recently expelled for something having to do with explosives, it's become a standard place. 

Jake, Noah, and Troy surround their sacred spot, occasionally glancing out for any of the other three members of their team. Troy stares stony-faced at Noah, arms crossed. "That's bull. No way in any reality does Star Trek beat out Star Wars." 

"Star Trek is a brilliant idea spanning over generations. The reboot wasn't awful, the sequels aren't horrible, and the whole thing wasn't made by a director who made up the story as he went along. Star Trek wins," Noah spits back, raising an eyebrow. 

Jake groans as he raises his head to the sky, praying to Allah for some kind of relief. "You two are literally making me uncool just by standing next to you." A beat passes before he shrugs, "Besides, we all know Star Trek wins on Zoe Saldana alone." 

"Come _on..._ " 

"Morning, boys," Emma smiles as she approaches them all. The three turn their heads to stare. 

Orion stands in the middle of the trio, carrying a cardboard tray of drinks, smiling nervously. On his right arm is Emma, grinning proudly over at Orion, nudging him with her elbow. On his other side is Gia, sipping from a container identical to those in the middle, wearing possibly the biggest smile they've all seen. That isn't what draws their stares. What makes them stare is the fact that both Orion and Gia seem to have Emma's pink lipstick smears on their own faces. 

Seeing their faces makes Emma and Gia giggle and Orion's smile grow a tiny bit larger. Emma lets go of Orion's arm and strides forth, pressing her lips confidently to Jake's. His eyes remain wide open, making contact with an equally stunned Troy and Noah. 

After a few seconds, Emma leaves Jake's side and moves onto Noah, who instantly gets a look like an explosion went off in his face. Jake might have laughed if he wasn't still tasting strawberries and bubble gum and- was that sweet tea? 

Leaving a now-immobile Noah, Emma walks over to Troy, letting out another giggle before kissing him. It feels just as good as Orion's had, but slightly more hesitant. He can't claim he isn't surprised. 

Finally, Emma pulls apart and goes back to Orion's side, giggling with Gia as the blonde begins passing drinks to the still-stunned trio. "Gia and I talked, and we're all going to put in an effort to make Orion feel more at home here. So, get used to the kissing. Okay?" Without even waiting for a response, Gia pulls them all away, still laughing. 

Very slowly, the three of them turn their bodies to watch the girls as they lead Orion off. Jake managed to let out three words that summed up their feelings. 

_"What just happened?"_

 

Gia, they soon find out, is not the type to kiss lips. The news comes to them after the weekend as she approaches the group at their hallway spot.

"Hey, Orion," she smiles, kissing his cheek, and for a moment they all have to remind themselves that oh, yeah, this is a _thing_. 

Orion doesn't seem to notice their expressions (or, maybe, he pretends not to notice) as he returns her grin and her kiss. "Good morning, Gia."

Patting his arm, she looks around the group before spotting Noah's slightly reddening cheeks as he realizes what this means. Exchanging a look with Emma, she makes her way over and kisses his cheek, leaving red lipstick and an even redder blush. "Hey there," she smiles, ruffling his hair. 

She doesn't spend more than a second on Noah before she turns to Troy, repeating the gesture. To his credit, Troy isn't a blushing wreck when she pulls away from his cheek. He just nods slightly, managing out, "Uh, yeah. Good morning."

Jake is next, and looks far too eager for her tastes. Forcing back a sigh, Gia looks him dead in the eye. "I'm only doing this for Orion," she warns him before pressing a feather-light kiss to his cheek. Although she wasn't expecting much else, she does have to laugh at Jake's look of dazed victory.

The final kiss belongs to Emma, and it would be far easier than the others if it wasn't for the shy yet tempting look on her face. 

Gia's cheeks heat up, thankfully not enough to be noticeable, as she steps forth and places a kiss on Emma's cheek. She lingers the slightest bit longer, feeling the burning of Emma's cheek under her lips.

"Oooooh," Jake and Troy harmonize, having snapped out of their shock thankfully earlier than yesterday. Noah still looks a little dazed, but then, Troy supposed, he hasn't had much romantic luck.

They all laugh as Gia flips them off (apart from a very confused Orion), and when Emma asks if anyone did the biology homework, Noah snaps out to warn her about a hard question.

Somewhere in all of their minds is the same thought, but they refuse to say it out loud.

 

They're at Noah's house for a movie night a few weeks later when Jake truly realizes just how normal it's become to be affectionate. 

Halfway through a really boring scene where the romantic lead is whining to his mentor over having to follow his destiny, Jake glances over at the rest of his friends. Orion is in the middle of them all, Troy resting his head on one shoulder. Gia is holding Orion's hand as Emma lays across all of their legs, resting her head on Gia's lap. He hadn't realized that simple kisses had evolved into cuddling so fast. 

Emma and Gia had always been snuggly, sure, but they had been best friends since the first day of preschool. Orion, he supposed, was just used to the whole thing, so the affection wasn't surprising. But since when had Troy been so willing to cuddle?

Jake shakes his head quietly and goes to turn back, only to catch Noah looking towards the cuddle pile. He turns his head down towards his friend, only to see that look on his face that he gets when he really wants to do something, but isn't sure how.

The realization hits him after a moment, and he has to struggle not to immediately yank Noah into a hug until the feeling goes away. ( _"Now who's the affectionate one?"_ his internal voice mocks, but he ignores it.)

Swallowing, Jake moves his mouth over to Noah's ear. "You know... We could do that. If you want." 

Noah looks up at Jake in disbelief and slight embarrassment, about to deny his jealousy, but biting it back. He just nods, shifting over on the couch and settling into Jake's arms.

Noah is warm and his skin is soft against his, and Jake has to smile at how right this entire thing finally feels. Orion reaches his hand across Troy's body to hold Jake's in his, and Emma stretches her legs out further to take over Noah's lap. 

Jake already knows he's smiling like a idiot. He doesn't bother trying to hide it.

 

It happens after a battle one day. 

The monster had been easy to deal with, as most are. Kick the monster to the ground, bring out the giant robot, and everything is done. 

However, most monsters don't have a backup plan. Most monsters don't send their foot soldiers in to distract only a few Rangers. Most monsters don't try to kidnap their friends. 

Troy can hear it clearly even as they stumble back into his house to recover. He can remember how he turned his head to see Orion wriggling against the Loogies, Noah gasping for air, Emma screaming for someone to help.

They'd nearly lost them.

Troy puts himself on autopilot as he gets blankets and cookies out of the hall closet and turns the TV to some random movie. Noah and Jake have already collapsed onto the couch, and Troy isn't sure they've let go of each other's hands since they demorphed.

Emma and Gia flop onto the couch beside the two, Gia wrapping her arms around the smaller's waist. They both look stunned, unable to speak, just clinging tighter by the moment. 

Troy can barely think as he walks over, placing a blanket over each of the pairs and tossing them a package of cookies. They don't seem to notice. He doesn't really mind.

He's the leader of their team, and he almost let them down. He nearly gave up three of their members because he was distracted and he's the one who's supposed to take care of them all, damnit, and-

"Troy?" Someone's fingers slip under his chin, and soon he's being met with a pair of worried, familiar blue eyes. "What happened wasn't your fault. We're alright. All of us. I'm still here." 

Troy can't even think more about losing them. All he can do is lean in, desperate to feel lips against his. He needs to feel them all, to know that they're there. 

Orion's kisses are soft and sweet, but he needs more than that, and desperately. He grips tightly to Orion's shirt, pulling him in as close as he can. He needs this. They all do. 

After a long while (how long, he'll never know), Orion pulls back, and Troy almost goes to yank him back in. Within an instant, however, he can feel Noah's soft lips, hear his breath hitch as he's pulled in closer. He can't decide if this is an apology or a promise or something or nothing, but he's already addicted. 

He kisses Emma too, then Gia and Jake, and somewhere in his haze he can hear more lips colliding, more promises whispered. If he ever doubted that they all share a single soul spread between six bodies, he can never do so again. 

Troy doesn't remember when they stop. All he knows is that when Troy's mother returns home, she walks into the living room to see all six of them in a heap of cuddles, blankets strewn everywhere, all of them peacefully asleep. 

It becomes a thing without them even thinking about it.

 

When the team gets called over to Troy's house after school one day, they know it's something major.

Noah's house is where they go for hanging out after school. Emma's house is where they go for dinner after a hard battle or a long day- her parents are some of the best cooks in the state, and they don't mind having to host on a moment's notice. But Troy's house is where they go when things are urgent.

Gia, Noah, Emma, and Jake show up together, all wearing the same expression of confused worry. "Nothing happened at school?" Emma questions Noah, who shakes his head. "And he hasn't talked about his family in a while..."

"We just have to ask him ourselves," Gia shrugs, slipping her hand into Emma's. "Where's Orion?"

"Inside, probably. He's been with Troy a lot," Noah observes, leaning into Jake's arms on instinct, his hand joined with Emma's free one. Jake nods along with him.

They all exchange a final look before Jake pushes open the door, letting them inside. It's too silent, but they try to push away the feeling of dread as they walk into the living room.

Troy and Orion are sitting on the couch, Orion on Troy's lap, head resting on his shoulder. "Hey," Troy murmurs. "Can you sit down?"

The rest of them nod, sitting on the floor. Emma almost wants to go sit next to the two of them and kiss them to wipe the nervous looks off their faces, but somehow this doesn't seem like the time.

After they all get settled, Troy sits up slowly. "So... Orion and I are dating."

None of their faces change. Although they all kiss and cuddle and spend far too much time in each others' companies, they could all see the way they looked at each other, filled with something slightly _more_.

"Congratulations," Emma pipes up after a moment, and they all match her smile.

Orion smiles back, but soon fades back into his nervous state. "I... I have been doing research on earth culture. Is it true that kissing others while in a commitment is considered unfaithful?" He's never looked more innocent.

The room is silent for a while as the implications settle in. Jake is the one to speak up. "I mean, it is. Kind of. But if you want to-"

"He means, if you're both fine with it," Gia cuts him off, "then it's alright."

Orion shakes his head softly. "I know you all started being affectionate for me. As grateful as I am, I can't let you go on. I want to adapt. To be like the rest of you. To fit in."

Troy kisses his cheek for comfort, eyes traveling across the group. _For him,_ they seen to whisper, and they all understand.

"Whatever makes you comfortable," Noah manages out, and the rest of them nod. Orion smiled, and they can't let themselves interpret it as anything but full happiness. 

Emma is the one to stand up first. "I have to go. I think I have homework." Gia nods and stands with her. Jake and Noah can't come up with an excuse between them as they stand, offering the best smile they can as they leave.

They all pretend that they won't miss the way Troy's calloused fingers felt perfect running through locks of hair, or how Orion's eyes always got this luminescent layer of sparkles about them whenever they touched. 

They pretend this is all okay. What else can they do? 

 

Gia gets woken up in the middle of the night by a knock on the door.

It isn't her bedroom door, so she can't dismiss it as being her younger brothers needing something or her parents coming in to check if she's asleep. From the sounds of it, it has to be coming from the front door.

She frowns but forces herself up, tugging her pajama shorts down as she walks, running a hand through her hair. Quietly slipping down the stairs in the hopes that she won't have to deal with the inevitable one-hundred questions that come up, she cautiously opens the door.

Standing on her front step is Jake, wearing nothing but a tank top and his boxers. "I need your help."

She slams the door in his face. 

"Come on!" Jake whines on the other side of the door, knocking again. Gia waits a few moments so it doesn't seem like she's already given in before forcing the door open. 

"You had better be quiet. If I have to hear my brothers or my parents complain because I woke them up, I will personally dunk your head in the toilet." 

Jake doesn't seem too phased by the speech, just walking inside and sitting down on the couch. It's weird to see Jake with his walls down. She can only remember a few times other than this, and they were only for a moment or two. This seems serious. 

"So," she begins, "why exactly are you at my house at midnight?" She takes a seat next to Jake, crossing her legs, giving him her typical expression. If the problem is so huge that it requires waking her up, he's not going to give her bullshit. 

Jake takes a breath before he rushes out, "I think I love Noah." 

For a moment, Gia goes to scoff. They all love Noah, the way he can keep his head through anything and how hard he laughs at the dumbest puns and how even when one of them has their hands almost tearing off his shirt and his glasses are almost fogged from how passionate their make outs can get, he can still find the time to correct them for some error from earlier. It's only the look in Jake's eyes that stops her.

She leans back further against the couch. "And?"

"And... You know." She's confused for another moment until it clicks. Orion. The relationships. Not touching.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Jake sighs softly, running a hand through his hair. "I mean... I want to keep this up. I don't think I ever really knew how much I cared about you, or how much you did for me. Until, you know."

"Until we started kissing."

"Yeah."

Gia nods gently. There's a moment of silence. "Orion would be confused."

"He would. And uncomfortable. I mean... We did the whole thing for him anyway."

Gia can't even bring herself to nod. She looks over at Jake and can see clearer than ever that he's lying to himself. But then, isn't she doing the same?

"Emma's probably been waiting for the official signal anyway," she jokes, crossing her arms tightly against her chest. Swallowing, she forces a smile. "Can I at least get a kiss? Payback for waking me up in the middle of the night."

Jake laughs heavily, and for a moment Gia fears he's going to cry. He just nods. "Yeah."

They make out until their lips get sore, and Gia's head finds its way to Jake's chest. They remain there until Gia can see the sun rising from her living room window, where she sighs. "Get out of my house," she grumbles, and Jake laughs again. 

Even as Gia forcibly pushes Jake from her house, she still can't help but want to cling to what they leave behind. 

 

Something happens when their group divides.

It isn't a major division. They still see each other at their locker corner, and still spend days at Noah's house, and they still team up to defend the earth. (They can't really get out of that last part.) But now Jake always has his arm around Noah, and Emma's hand rests only in Gia's, and Orion only kisses Troy's cheek. 

They try to pretend like it isn't different.

Troy and Orion have been declared official for about a month when Orion brings it up. They're sitting outside an ice cream shop in the warm May sun, Troy occasionally feeding Orion spoonfuls of Very Berry Delight, kissing him to wipe the missed spoonfuls off his lips. 

"So then I glance up and I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, and I'm not scared at all. That's when I realized it was a dream, because-" Troy stops his rambling when he notices the distant, pensive look on his boyfriend's face. "Hey. You okay there?"

"I miss them."

"Who?"

"Noah and Emma and Jake and Gia. I miss them all."

Troy frowns over at him. "What do you mean? We see them every day."

"But it isn't like it used to be."

Everything snaps into place suddenly, and Troy's eyes widen.

"You mean... you mean with the affection and stuff?" he asks, biting his lip nervously, pleading he's right. He nearly sighs in pure relief when Orion nods. 

"I love you very much, Troy, and I love kissing you, and being with you. But I love them all too. Just as much," Orion whispers. Troy puts a hand on his arm when he sees him shaking slightly. "Are you mad?"

Troy shakes his head, kisses Orion's cheek, tries not to whip out his phone and call everyone over to his house so they can make out _now._ "Of course not," he whispers, running a hand through his boyfriend's hair. "I've been missing them too."

"Really?" Orion asks, brow furrowing. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you wanted to fit in. We all just kind of... went with it when you said you didn't want it."

Orion nods solemnly. "Don't lie again. On Andresia, we never lied to those we love."

"Sounds like a plan," Troy laughs, leaning in to kiss Orion, who tastes just like Emma's strawberry lip gloss.

After a few minutes of nothing but kissing, Orion softly asks, "Can we call the rest of them over?"

Troy bursts into laughter, leaning up against Orion's shoulder as he takes out his phone. "Of course we can."

They smile wider than they have in weeks.

 

Summer comes, bringing warmth and sweat and general heat. The heat, however, doesn't stop them from having sleepovers every night, curled up in a pile on the floor, always woken with kisses.

At the start of July, Emma's family hosts a barbecue. She invites all of them to come with pink glittery invitations, and they all reply with a kiss to her cheek and a smile.

It's the first time Emma has seen Noah in shorts (something that, considering how much Jake is laughing, is a group experience), the first time Orion has ever been to an Earth party (she has to fight not to squeal when Orion shows up with a tiny silver party hat and carrying about twenty bags of chips 'in case they ran out') , and the first time they've had a break for the entire year. Between school and fighting evil, time had been short between them. This day was theirs.

They run through the sprinkler in Emma's backyard, Orion yelping whenever water touches him, the others helping him through. When her dad 'unintentionally' leaves the hose too close to Gia's foot, she takes the opportunity to drench them all, which leads to quite a few tackles.

Relatives start arriving after a while, and Jake and Troy promptly excuse themselves to vacuum up all of the food spread out on the table. They get their own picnic blanket to themselves, spreading out across it, not caring who ends up where. Troy reaches over to feed some of his burger to Noah, the both of them laughing about how much Orion is moaning over his grilled chicken. Jake attempts to start a food fight with Gia, only to end up with dip smeared all over his cheeks, which Emma laughs as she kisses off.

In the late afternoon, they all lie out to soak in the sun. Gia massages suntan lotion into all of their skin, and no one can tell who's faking their groans of pleasure and who means it. They all collapse beside each other, hands intertwined in one big chain.

Emma excuses herself at one point to go get a drink, only to end up with five drink requests after the fact. She rolls her eyes and smiles, going over to the cooler to fish out all of the drinks. 

"So," her uncle says from behind her, sipping on his own drink. "Which one of your friends are you 'in love with' again? None of us can tell." Emma smiles and bites back the urge to say 'all of them'.

Night falls and the stars emerge. Emma's family says goodbye to the group, and no one cares to point out how Emma's head is on Troy's shoulder and her hand is holding Gia's and her legs are angled so they can touch Noah's. 

They lie back on the blanket and listen as Orion points out every planet and star he knows- some unnamed by humans. Jake almost dozes off but all it takes is a kiss from Noah to get him to listen again.

Silence falls over all of them as they take in the sky. "You know," Orion whispers, "I don't think any place has ever felt more like home than here." Everyone makes a silent promise at that moment not to point out if tears of bliss are falling down all of their faces.

They're a team, a partnership, a single soul split between six. Nothing will ever change that.

**Author's Note:**

> This took me three days so I really hope it isn't garbage.
> 
> Find me at milocawthorne on Tumblr if you're into that sort of thing.
> 
> In the Crystal Silence will be updated tomorrow night, 3/28!


End file.
